Sasol Ltd. $SSL Stock: Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stake

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Sasol stake by 21.1% in the third quarter, selling 290,902 shares and retaining 1.09 million shares valued at approximately $15.1 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans cautious: two analysts rate Sasol a Buy, four recommend Hold, and one recommends Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating.
• Sasol shares opened at $15.71, near their 52-week high of $16.34, after reporting quarterly revenue of $4.61 billion and earnings of $0.56 per share. Insiders have also sold 60,412 shares worth about $801,000 over the past 90 days.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,090,307 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 290,902 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.17% of Sasol worth $15,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Sasol during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Foster Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sasol during the third quarter worth $142,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sasol by 35.5% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 47,869 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 12,529 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sasol during the second quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Sasol by 146.6% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 83,589 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 49,699 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SSL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Sasol from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sasol from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Bank of America raised Sasol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sasol from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Insider Activity

In other Sasol news, EVP Sandile Lawrence Siyaya sold 2,842 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total transaction of $36,093.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 301 shares in the company, valued at $3,822.70. The trade was a 90.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Walt Bruns sold 7,890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total transaction of $100,203.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 54,628 shares in the company, valued at $693,775.60. This trade represents a 12.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 60,412 shares of company stock valued at $800,983 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sasol Stock Performance

Shares of Sasol stock opened at $15.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $13.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.56. Sasol Ltd. has a one year low of $5.24 and a one year high of $16.34.

Sasol (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.61 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Sasol Ltd. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Sasol Profile

Sasol Limited is an integrated chemicals and energy company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company develops and commercializes technologies that convert coal and natural gas into fuels, chemical feedstocks and other products, including through Fischer–Tropsch processes. Its portfolio includes fuel components, solvents, alcohols, surfactants, waxes, polymers and other specialty and performance chemicals used in industrial and consumer applications.

Sasol's operations have historically been centered in South Africa, where the company operates major energy and chemicals facilities, with additional manufacturing, research and marketing activities in international markets.

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